In the shipping industry, there has been an increased use of running power and communication lines from a base on shore to a boat anchored just off the shore. With this increased use of power lines and communication lines extending to offshore boats, there is an increased need for a way to provide a watertight hull inlet which may be opened and closed regularly for making connections between the boat and the shore-based lines.
While many attempts have been made to provide a connection point on a boat for shore-based power and communication lines, numerous disadvantages are present in these prior devices. Many of them are not waterproof, and thus the electrical connection points become corroded by the sea water. In addition, installation of many of these connection points require extensive modification to the hull of the boat. Moreover, many of these devices require expensive assemblies for attaching them to the hull of the boat.
This invention addresses this need in the art, along with other problems and needs which will become apparent to those skilled in the art once given this disclosure.